


True Love Is Always Messy

by LadygoldLoZ



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, And Yusuke has no idea how the world works, Awkward Romance, F/M, Friendship, Futaba Sakura is a nerd, Futaba has some kind of social anxiety, Futaba's mom is alive, Humor (I hope), Instead we get highschool romance, Intense shogi games, No Phantom Thieves, So basically like in canon, Sweet and wholesome with a pinch of angst, actually, maybe I'm projecting, so is most of the cast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 19:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17586902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadygoldLoZ/pseuds/LadygoldLoZ
Summary: Futaba Isshiki didn't know it at the time, but running into that guy in the manga-shop might be the best thing that ever happened to her. AU where no phantom-thieves exist and Shido isn't trying to take over the world. (Spoilers for Yusuke's and kinda Futaba's social link but...you know, Persona 5 is old now so it's probably not a big deal.)Originally posted on fanfiction.net by LadygoldLOZ (me)Both the summary and the title are pretty bad, but they hold sentimental value so I'm not changing them





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey people!
> 
> This is a cross-post of a work I posted on Fanfiction.net over 2 years ago (You know, back when Persona 5 was kinda relevant and there were barely any yutaba fics anywhere).  
> Since then, I've updated kinda sporadically, but now that I've kinda got 2 fics here I figured it was high time I move this story here as well.
> 
> Note: If you've come here from either of the Danganronpa RP fics that I'm co-writing, just know that this fic was concieved (and started) way before I even knew attakaikukkii, so it might be fairly different.
> 
> Also- ideally I'd like to re-write the fic before posting because my writing has developed a lot over the past years, but I'm not going to make myself do that because I've got enough of stuff to do.
> 
> That being said- you enjoying my previous fics doesn't mean you can't enjoy this one, and conversely, if you're here from the Persona 5 fandom and also like Danganronpa you might enjoy those fics.
> 
> But enough about that.  
> I'll be posting these chapters in bulk to get them onto here, but it's doubtful that I'll have time to do them all so if you want to read ahead, here's the link to the ff.net page  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12616915/1/True-love-is-always-messy
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy the fic!

Futaba's POV

The sun shone brightly from the sky, illuminating the whole of Akihabara. A ginger-haired teen was happily skipping down the sidewalk, clutching a bag in one hand and an ice cream in the other. The girl was called Futaba Isshiki and she had her sights set on a small comic-and-manga-shop where she hoped to pick up the latest “Feathermen-R” manga and some dark chocolate to console her mother who, only begrudgingly, had allowed the sixteen-year old to go shopping by herself.

Futaba adjusted her headphones as she quickened her pace. When she reached the shop, she threw the remainder of her green popsicle in a nearby trashcan, whereupon she pushed the door open and all but ran inside.  
She could barely keep in an excited shout when she looked around the shop. She spun in a circle, eyes wide open, and grinning excitedly. The shop was warmly lit with lights in all corners as well as the ceiling. The walls were covered in posters from various anime and manga and the shop windows were filled to the brim with everything from action figurines and t-shirts to the latest manga. She noticed that the volume she was looking for was there, but that was not what caught her attention.

Standing prominently on display next to a bookshelf and a shelf filled with different coffee mugs were 5 action figurines. Futaba recognized them immediately, they were the Feathermen-Rangers! Her eyes bulged out even further and her excitement caused her to practically start bouncing on the spot.  
She approached the table where they were standing, with an almost gleeful smile on her face and slowly tiptoed around it, as if the slightest sound might cause something to break or the figurines to disappear.  
Futaba had never seen anything like those figurines before. They must either be completely new or super rare. Either way, there was no way she could let this opportunity go to waste, manga and mom's wrath be damned.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yusuke's POV

Yusuke Kitagawa was only dimly aware of his surroundings as he made his way down the sidewalk.

He had traveled to Akihabara for no other reason than to seek inspiration for his new art project, but it was proving difficult with so many people and things constantly distracting him. Currently, his mind was far above the clouds, contemplating whether true beauty truly could be captured in art, or if it was merely a superficial concept thought up by man to give him an ideal. What he truly wanted was someone to discuss these theories and ideas with, but for some reason most (if not all) people gave him weird looks and politely excused themselves if he brought the topic up during conversation.

Something caught the blue haired teen's attention and caused him to come back to reality. Immediately the sounds, colors and sensations of the world became louder and more distinct, and Yusuke missed the blissful calm that accompanied his musings.  
Looking around to find what had caused the distraction, his eyes soon fell on a display in a window of a manga-and-comics store.

A girl with vibrant tangerine hair was admiring five action figurines. They were about the size of Yusukes hand and each sporting a different color scheme. Despite this, Yusuke couldn't help but feel like something was... off. In his artistic mind, the colors stood out like a discrepancy, a small detail that made the whole image look distorted.

He blinked, and decided that something like this was wholly unacceptable, he had to set it right. And thus, he made his way towards the store.


	2. Chapter 2

Futaba barely noticed the tall blue haired teen when he entered the store. She was glued to the figurines, already imagining what they would look like in her room, on the shelf beside her Featherman-R manga and science-fiction novels.  
The girl hummed to herself as she moved aside to check the prices, and therefore didn't see the other boy move closer and start to fiddle with the figurines. After making sure she would be able to afford the figurines (they came at a price of 8000 yen which meant that she would have to use all of her allowance for three months, but it was totally worth it) she turned back, only to be greeted by the most horrific sight her sixteen-year old eyes had ever seen.

The Featherman-R figurines were completely mutilated. They were standing in a stiff, unnatural pose and it looked as if each doll had been taken apart, and subsequently assembled in a total chaotic mess. The signature colors were gone, and she barely recognized the pieces at all. Who could have committed such a terrible crime?

Futaba heard a chuckle behind her, and came face to face (actually more like face to torso, since the guy was like twice her height) with the blue haired teen from earlier. He had a contented and delighted look on his face, and she felt a sudden urge to punch him, though she used her immense powers of self control to hold it back. Instead, she fixed the guy with the most furious look she could manage, hoping it would convey the same message without the risk of being arrested for assault.  
She stared at the guy for what felt like an hour, eyes blazing and lips twisted into a snarl, but to no avail. Not only did the guy blithely ignore her, he kept turning his head and squinting, as if he was trying to look straight through her.  
He hummed thoughtfully and pushed Futaba aside as he approached the action figurines once again, twisting what had once been Feather Hawks arm slightly before backing up again.

Futaba was practically bursting with anger. How dare this stranger touch her precious figurines (granted - she hadn't actually bought them yet, but anyway!) and how dare he simply ignore her like this? Futaba inhaled deeply and readied herself to drown this insolent jerk with her super special attack!

“Hey! What are you-”  
The guy held up a hand to stop her before she even got to finish her sentence. He hummed thoughtfully and stepped forward to adjust the head of Feather Argus slightly. He backed up again and scrutinized his creation, this time his lips quirked upward into a satisfied smile and he made no move to continue with the unholy mutilation. She tried to deepen her glare even further and balled her hands into fists that she raised in front of her. The blue-haired teens eyes widened in surprise as if he only now had noticed her, and Futaba pursed her lips. She wasn't that small!

“Ah, excuse me. I didn't see you there.” The guy tugged at the collar of his white shirt and smiled sheepishly. “What seems to be the problem? I hope I haven't done anything to upset you.”

“What have you done? They're completely ruined!” Futaba rushed forward, putting her body in between the weird guy and the figurines with her arms spread out to shield them.

“I assure you that I meant no harm. I was simply trying to give them a better aesthetic”

Futaba narrowed her eyes and kept glaring until she saw the guy getting uncomfortable. He shrugged and backed out of the shop, hands held in front of him in a peace gesture.  
She kept glaring until the door closed behind him, and afterwards she turned back to the figurines, hoping she might be able to save them from the terrible fate the blue-haired guy had sentenced them to. Fortunately, nothing had been broken during the impromptu disfigurement and Futaba was able to pick apart and put all of the figurines back together relatively easily. The owner of the shop even gave her a discount, so she was able to buy that chocolate for her mom after all.

In the end, everything turned out alright, but that didn't stop Futaba from glaring at the road. Maybe .. kicking a rock a little harder than necessary when she thought about the blue-haired guy in the shop on her way home. She decided that she would give him a proper lecture if they ever met again.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Futaba woke up way before her alarm. Her mother had, of course, already left for work but there was a note taped to the fridge wishing her a good day and reminding her that there was leftover curry in the fridge.  
At the bottom, her mom had written “Good luck with school sweetie, and don't forget that I love you!” Futaba's stomach churned uncomfortably. She had almost forgotten about school.

Last year she had to skip half a term because of her father, and afterwards she and her mother had decided that since she didn't really have any friends at her old school, she might as well transfer to a new one. It had sounded like a great idea at the time but the anxiety was really starting to show now when school start was mere hours away.

She took a few deep breaths and tried to smile confidently as she began eating curry straight from the box. She couldn't stomach more than a few bites and when she went to shut the fridge, she noticed that her hand was shaking.  
Nevertheless she pulled on her uniform and hastily threw a notepad and some pens into her bag along with the lunch that her mom had made before leaving. The entire subway trip she tried to convince herself that it would be alright. She would fit in, and hopefully make some friends too. Whatever happened, Kosei High couldn't be much worse than her previous school.

 

The school really didn't look particularly different from her last. Kosei High consisted of a large white building with multiple floors as well as what Futaba assumed was a gymnasium and a small garden with a few benches in the back. The hallways were long and narrow, and the classrooms looked pretty much identical from what Futaba observed through the windows. The place still made her feel like her skin was crawling.  
She imagined everyone's gazes on her, wondering who she was, what she was doing, judging her appearance, clothes, picking apart every piece of her and assembling it like a puzzle, but twisting the picture so that only her negative aspects were shown. Her mind swirled with questions. Where is my classroom? Am I supposed to talk to someone before class? Am I late? What if they changed the time and everyone found out except for me and I will be walking in late and everyone thinks I'm really irresponsible? And what do I do for lunch? Is there a place to eat? What if I accidentally spill something or sit at the wrong table. Are there seating arrangements? What if I didn't get a seat? Who do I ask? What do I do?

She took a deep breath to calm herself and then started to look around for somebody to ask for directions. She approached a nice looking girl with brown hair who was leaning against a locker with a thoughtful expression on her face. Futaba cleared her throat and the girl looked up.

“Excuse me? I'm new and I don't know where my classroom is. Could you show me the way to 2B?”  
Wow, she hoped that hadn't sounded as pathetic as she thought.

If the girl noticed her discomfort she didn't let on. Instead she smiled brightly and offered to walk Futaba all the way to her classroom. She introduced herself as “Hifumi Togo” and told Futaba that they were in the same year. To Futaba's immense relief, Hifumi didn't seem to think she was strange or pathetic at all. She practically demanded that Futaba come to her if she needed anything, declaring that it was a “queens duty to protect and serve lost souls.” (Futaba wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that, but Hifumi seemed nice enough, so she didn't bring it up.)

 

“You could also talk to my friend” Hifumi said as they walked up the stairs “I think he's in your class. His name is Yusuke Kitagawa, and he's a good guy – even if he might come of as a little strange.” She chuckled and Futaba found herself liking her more by the minute.

When they reached Futaba's classroom Hifumi grabbed her shoulder and looked at her with a big smile on her face. “Here we are, don't worry you'll be fine! I promise to go find you after class and we can have lunch together.” Futaba answered with a timid smile of her own, and Hifumi headed toward her own classroom. Futaba took a deep breath before she opened the door. Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine! She told herself and wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt. Mission Start! She thought, and then she opened the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Upon entering the classroom, Futaba noticed three things.  
First, it was really noisy and she was not, in fact, running late. Students were sitting on their benches, talking and laughing and there was a big crowd by the blackboard where people were writing their names and drawing random stuff.  
Secondly, whoever was in charge of the lesson had not yet arrived, even though class was going to start any minute. Futaba also didn't know where she was supposed to sit or if she had been assigned to a seat without knowing. She moved from the doorway and stood with her back against the wall, clutching her bag in one hand whilst awkwardly glancing around the room.  
Thirdly, nobody seemed to notice her arrival or, if they had they didn't comment on it. There was no awkward pause where everyone dropped what they were doing and gawked at her, no silence as she walked across the room with everyone's gazes on her. It almost felt as if she was one of them.

Before she finished the thought, the door slammed open next to her. A woman with jet black hair and impossibly tall heels stalked in and hurriedly placed her stuff on the lectern. She opened her bag and pulled out a couple of papers whilst simultaneously managing to remove her jacket. When she was done, she quickly glanced at the big clock on the wall. Then she cleared her throat. Everyone in the room hurried to their seats and one student pulled his hand across the blackboard a few times in a  
half-hearted attempt to remove the scribbles. He quickly gave up and hurried to his seat.

The teacher cleared her throat again and began talking to the class. Futaba felt increasingly uncomfortable and wondered if it would be rude to interrupt. What would she even say,  
Excuse me? I'm new and I don't know where to sit. Could you please introduce me to the class so that we can all get on with our lives and I can complete my mission? Oh yeah, that's just how I talk because I'm lame and use video game terms in my head, don't worry! You're not the first person to find that incredibly strange and slightly revolting. I'm used to it!  
She cringed inwardly. Yeah, better to stand next to the wall and be awkward than to publicly humiliate herself in front of her new class.

As the teacher kept prattling about how nice it was to be back after winter break and how important it was to have fun and not study all the time, more and more students noticed the strange girl standing by the door to their classroom. Futaba felt the gazes of almost everyone in the room on her. She could practically hear them whispering to each other about how weird she was, or what she could be doing there and looked at the ground. She could feel her cheeks start to heat up and a lump formed in her throat.

Suddenly the teacher looked up from her papers and noticed Futaba standing next to the door. Her expression changed from confusion to realization to embarrassment in the span of seconds. If Futaba wasn't so busy being awkward, she would have found it impressive.

“I knew I had forgotten something.” The teacher grumbled, and cleared her throat again. That seemed to be somewhat of a nervous reaction for her, Futaba noticed, smirking inwardly. At least she wasn't the only one who was embarrassed.

“Alright guys, this is your new classmate!” The teacher looked over at Futaba with a big plastered smile on her face. “Why don't you introduce yourself to the class, um-” she glanced at her papers, “-Isshiki-chan!, come up here Isshiki-chan.”

Futaba walked slowly toward the lectern and gave a shy smile once she stood in front of the class. She looked across all of the students, most of them meeting her gaze whilst some were already staring out the window or passing notes. Futaba even saw one guy who was drawing something in a notebook. She wondered which student Hifumi had called her friend. Maybe she would ask her when they met for lunch later. The thought made her smile, she had never had someone to eat lunch with. It felt good, even though she was pretty sure Hifumi was just pitying her. Nevertheless, the thought gave her the confidence she needed to stand a little straighter and be proud that her voice only wavered twice when she introduced herself to the class.

The teacher, who introduced herself as miss Koizumi, gave Futaba a few books, a schedule and a map of the school to help with orientation. Futaba thought it best not to mention that she would have the layout memorized after one look, and received the papers with a smile. Then she looked out over the classroom with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Let's see now, I know we saved you a seat somewhere..”

Her face lit up as she spotted what Futaba assumed must be an empty bench.  
“There! You can sit next to Kitagawa-kun.” Miss Koizumi pointed across the room at the guy who Futaba had seen drawing in his notebook earlier. He lifted his head when he heard his name being called and Futaba's heart almost stopped right there. It was the guy from the manga shop! She was suddenly overwhelmed with a myriad of different emotions. Shock, annoyance and anger all fought for control inside her confused brain, but for some reason Futaba also felt a tiny sliver of relief. At least she recognized one person in the giant heap of students that were her new class. She pushed that feeling down though, reminding herself that she was angry at this guy – and with good reason.

Kitagawa had already begun moving his books as to give Futaba a spot to sit. She grabbed a chair from a nearby bench and slammed her bag down next to it a little harder than necessary. She stubbornly refused to look at her new bench-mate, instead focusing intently on miss Koizumi.

“Kitagawa-kun, why don't you show Isshiki-chan around the school later?”

Kitagawa nodded an affirmative but otherwise didn't react. Futaba forced a smile and hoped the tour would be over quickly. At least she still had lunch with Hifumi to look forward to, and after school, she could go home and read the latest volume of Fetherman-R. The thought made her remember that day in the manga-shop and she turned to glare at Kitagawa, only to see that he was busy drawing again.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Futaba leaned slightly closer to her bench-mate and tried to see what he was drawing. Her breath almost caught in her throat, but she quickly looked away before she was found out. She had only seen the picture for a split second, but she knew one thing for sure. This guy was good. The picture had been depicting a white fox basking in the sunlight and even though it had just been a sketch, something in the lines had made it look alive, like it could stretch and walk out of the book at any moment. This just made Futaba even angrier. Not only was the guy a figurine-murderer but he was apparently a prodigy too.

Looking back up, Futaba shook the irritation away and tried to focus on miss Koizumi. It was hard to listen to the teacher though, and Futaba's mind kept wandering . It also didn't help that the subject was one that she herself had read about online during the months she had been absent, and therefore already knew by heart.

 

The other lessons were much the same. Futaba would walk in, introduce herself to the teacher and then barely pay attention when the class began. She found it oddly peaceful, and she knew that she would have an easier time learning stuff at home anyway so she didn't really mind. She even managed to come to terms with her unwelcome bench-mate after a while. He was usually quiet and gave her plenty of space, so much so that Futaba was starting to suspect that she might actually have scared him with all of her yelling in the shop. She actually felt a tiny bit bad, and debated whether to apologize but she was still to angry at him for almost ruining her action figurines. She figured that if he apologized to her, she would too but she was not gonna make the first move.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time lunch rolled around, Futaba was dizzy. Her head swirled with the names and personalities of all of the students and teachers she had been introduced to. There was one girl who'd come up to her and immediately started to gossip about some guy from another school, straight out of the blue. Futaba didn't have any idea who the girl had been talking about, but figured that it would be rude to cut her off so she'd endured the girls babbling until the teacher had arrived and the next lesson began. Then there had been one guy who'd straight up asked her what bra-size she used. That jerk had received swift punishment from Futaba's special spinning push attack™ , inspired by episode 22 of Phoenix Rangers Featherman R.

Kitagawa had stayed mostly quiet through everything, and Futaba noticed that even though plenty of people crowded their bench to talk to her, nobody gave him a second glance. She figured that they would start ignoring her soon enough too. Right now she was just the latest gossip, and sooner or later, people would grow bored. It was nothing new, she was used to it but it kind of stung. At least Hifumi seemed genuinely nice. Futaba looked forward to eating with her.

Lunch break had just started and most students were packing up their stuff or unpacking their lunches. Futaba had somehow gotten stuck in a conversation between two brown haired girls about the new food that was being served at the diner in Shibuya. Apparently their “Nostalgic Steak” was to die for. The two girls were talking so fast that Futaba could barely keep up. She sighed, and wished she could just stand up and scream I don't care about your stupid steak! I don't go outside, and even if I did, Sojiro makes way better food than any restaurant could ever dream of, so stop talking about it!  
As nice as it was to be popular, Futaba was not used to this many people trying to get to know her all at once. Calling it overwhelming would be the understatement of the century and she was seriously considering jumping out a window to get some peace – that, or punching someone randomly. That would probably get people to leave her alone.

Luckily, Hifumi burst into the classroom and saved her before anyone got hurt. She stalked up to Futaba and grabbed her hand, causing the two girls to immediately shut up and stare at Hifumi with a mixture of disgust and confusion on their faces. Hifumi paid them no mind, and instead dragged Futaba toward her bench, where Kitagawa for some reason still scribbled in his notebook.

Hifumi cleared her throat, but it got no reaction from Kitagawa. She sighed and slammed her hand down right on top of his notebook. He jumped, and seemed to wake up from some sort of trance. Hifumi just stood next to his desk, Futaba's hand still clasped firmly in hers, and waited until he looked sentient again.  
Futaba pursed her lips. She didn't know what Hifumi was up to, but even though her distaste for her bench-mate had mellowed into begrudging acceptance, she still didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in his company.

Either Hifumi didn't notice the tension hanging between the two of them, or she just didn't care because she pulled Futaba forward until she was standing right in front of him and said in a cheerful voice,

“Yusuke, this is Futaba. Futaba, this is Yusuke. He's the friend that I told you about earlier”

Futaba was absolutely certain that some God was messing with her. First she was supposed to sit next to this guy, then he was going to show her around, and now Hifumi apparently knew him too. This seriously wasn't funny at all. Still, Hifumi seemed nice, and Futaba didn't want to lose the only person other than Kitagawa she knew in the school. She would just have to put up with him. Kitagawa seemed to have come to a similar conclusion, because he stood, and began packing his notebook and pencils into a blue backpack.

“Actually, me and Isshiki-san share a bench” he said, and motioned toward the other end of the desk, where Futaba had placed her green backpack on her chair. “I'm supposed to show her around the school.”

“Really? How fortunate. Then why don't I join you? I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!” Futaba immediately felt better when she heard Hifumi's words. At least she wouldn't be alone with her weird bench-mate. She took her backpack as well, and together the three of them walked out of the classroom.

 

Hifumi, Kitagawa and Futaba went down to the schoolyard in search of a place to eat. After wandering for a while they found a suitable table and a few chairs (all of which Futaba completely disregarded in favor of sitting on top of the table). Futaba and Hifumi both unpacked their lunches while Kitagawa excused himself to find a vending machine. While they waited, Hifumi began to ask Futaba what she thought of their school so far.

“So how was miss Koizumi? Did she come late again?” Hifumi giggled and Futaba recounted the disastrous first period she had to endure. (Omitting the part where she almost had a breakdown in front of the class, of course.)

“That sounds exactly like her. I was in her class last year, and she was always at least five minutes late. I don't think she was ever on time! She's kind of infamous around here.” Futaba smiled, swinging her legs back and forth. Their conversation faded into silence, and Futaba enjoyed the feeling of the mild spring air on her skin.

“Do you know Shogi?” Hifumi suddenly asked, and Futaba noted a sudden shift in Hifumi's body language, and a hint of shyness that had seeped into her voice. The name sounded familiar, and Futaba suddenly remembered a computerized version of a board game, that she had played for a while in middle school. She remembered writing a program that could play with her, because none of her classmates wanted to play with the “nerd.” She thought she remembered the rules but it had been a while since she quit.

“Kinda,” she answered, shrugging “I played it on my computer a while ago, but I hardly remember anything.”

Hifumi looked scandalized.

“You played Shogi... on a computer? How could you?!” Hifumi glared angrily at Futaba, who recoiled slightly. She started to form an answer, but before she got the chance, Hifumi cut her off.

“Playing Shogi digitally is completely different than playing on a board! You could not possibly compare the two. When you play properly you develop a special bond to your pieces, and without this it is impossible to win. How dare you claim the title of queen, you who do not even know your subordinates?! It is a disgrace to the game!”

Hifumi's cheeks were flushed from excitement and Futaba was watching her curiously. The other girl had stood up and was posing dramatically, arms crossed and eyes fiery. Suddenly, Futaba began to giggle. She looked at Hifumi and her giggling turned into full blown laughter. She gripped her stomach, and tried to cover her mouth with one hand to stop it, but she couldn't control herself.

Hifumi looked confused at first, but soon she too began to giggle. They looked each other in the eyes and laughed uncontrollably. Futaba couldn't remember the last time she'd had such fun.

“What- what's so funny?” Hifumi tried to speak through her laughter.

Futaba was about to fall of the table, but she steadied herself with one hand, and tried to answer coherently. It took some serious concentration, but she managed.

“It's just, I never expected you to be so-” Futaba had to stop as a new wave of giggles overcame her. “So geeky. You're almost as crazy about Shogi as I am about Fetherman R.”

Hifumi looked embarrassed, but she was smiling. Futaba realized that this may very well be the first time she'd laughed together with someone her own age. The concept was so foreign that she wondered if she'd somehow stumbled into an alternate reality or somebody had just stepped on a butterfly, causing a major distortion in space time.

“What on earth are the two of you doing?”

And just like that, Futaba's good mood was ruined.

Kitagawa approached them with a bemused expression on his face. He brushed off one of the chairs, and sat down opposite Hifumi, with Futaba still sitting atop the table. Kitagawa gave her a questioning look, and she answered by sticking out her tongue.

“Chairs are for the weak.” She declared and kicked her legs defiantly. Hifumi laughed and Kitagawa's lips quirked into a smile. Futaba wondered when the chemistry between them had become this... lighthearted. She wasn't sure if she cared.

The three spent the rest of lunch break in a similar manner, and after they had eaten, Hifumi and Kitagawa showed Futaba around the school. She got to see the chemistry lab, library and art room, (where they had to stop and let Kitagawa explain the inner meaning behind almost every painting before proceeding.) The school was big, and Futaba was visibly confused when they were finished, so Hifumi ordered Kitagawa to accompany Futaba to all of her classes until she became familiar with the layout of the school. Futaba wanted to argue that she could manage by her own, but after Kitagawa pointed out that they would most likely walk together anyways since they were part of the same class, both girls left it alone. They walked together until they arrived at Futaba and Kitagawa's classroom but before the two of them could enter, Hifumi stopped them.

“Hey, if you're not busy, would you like to accompany me to Jimbocho after school? I need to buy some books about strategy to practice my Shogi for an upcoming tournament.”

Futaba was stunned. Nobody had ever wanted to go shopping with her before, and she'd never gone to a place she didn't recognize without her mom before. Still, Hifumi was nice, and she was actually starting to warm up to Kitagawa too, though only slightly. Very slightly.  
She smiled and nodded, and Kitagawa did the same. Hifumi looked overjoyed, but after realizing that class was starting in less than a minute, she quickly said goodbye and hurried toward her own classroom. Futaba and Kitagawa both looked after her until she disappeared from view, before turning and entering their classroom.


	6. Chapter 6

The afternoon classes had been going really well. Futaba had sat through science, geography and Japanese without any mishaps at all, and she was starting to think that lessons might actually not be that bad. She could easily keep up with the teachers, and the lessons were usually interesting. Sure, her Japanese teacher's voice sounded like a crossing between a really dull lullaby and the computer voice from Google translate, and her geography teacher talked more about philosophy than actual geography. (According to the girl who sat to Futaba's left, this was because he'd originally wanted to teach philosophy but been rejected in favor of some other guy who, according to the geography teacher, wasn't doing a good enough job teaching philosophy.) Even so, Futaba hadn't run in to any major problems yet. At least, until the final class of the day, math.

Futaba hadn't had a problem with math in her previous school. Sure, she hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about it but she'd been able to understand it well enough. Math was, after all, an essential part of programming, and if there was one thing Futaba knew, it was programming.  
It started nice enough, but about halfway into the lesson, Futaba encountered a problem that she had no idea how to solve. (Not to mention that about half of the words were ones that Futaba had never seen before, so she didn't even know exactly what the question was.)

She glanced up, scanning the room in search of the teacher, but he must have left the room at some point so she sank back into her chair with a sullen expression on her face. It wasn't her fault that they hadn't covered this in her previous school. She looked over the problem again, whispering the words out loud as if this would magically yield an answer. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

Futaba glared at her book, and looked for the teacher again. There was still no sign of him and she wondered what the heck the guy was doing, leaving his entire class unsupervised for so long. Suddenly, she felt something nudge her right shoulder. She turned her head, and noticed Kitagawa looking at her. He motioned toward her open book and whispered,

“Would you like some help?”

Futaba almost declined the offer. She didn't need some guy babysitting her, she could manage on her own. But at the same time, she knew Kitagawa hadn't been trying to insult or belittle her. Despite them only knowing each other for a grand total of four hours and only exchanging a few sentences during that time, (not including her yelling at him in the manga shop) she felt like she'd come to understand him somewhat. And besides, the teacher didn't seem to be returning anytime soon and Futaba did need help. She wouldn't be able to figure this out on her own, she knew that. So she begrudgingly nodded, and tried to hide her embarrassment.

Surprisingly, Kitagawa either didn't realize, or was kind enough to not poke fun at her at all. He patiently explained the problem in a way that she (mostly) understood, and wasn't bothered at all when he had to repeat a part or when she asked obvious questions.  
All things considered, he was being really nice. Futaba realized that she liked this side of him. The quiet, compassionate side. Immediately as she thought this, she realized what it had sounded like and was furious at herself for even thinking it. She turned her head for a moment, so that he wouldn't realize that her cheeks were red, and tried to reason with herself. She did not like Kitagawa.  
She merely appreciated him helping her, and she was acknowledging that he might not be so bad after all. Yeah, that was all it was. Totally normal.

She returned her attention to the math problem. After Kitagawa's explaining it, she realized that it wasn't that hard at all. She solved the equation and quickly got the correct answer, earning an approving nod from her bench-mate. She mouthed a “thank you” and gave a thumbs up, to which he responded with another nod and smile. Now that she'd gotten the hang of it, the rest of the lesson progressed smoothly, and Futaba realized that she'd completed well over three pages worth of problems when the bell rang. She felt a surge of pride, and smiled at herself. Futaba – 1 Math – 0 she thought, smirking.

When Futaba exited the classroom, Hifumi was already waiting outside. She enthusiastically greeted Futaba and Kitagawa, and immediately started to explain the route they would have to take to reach Jimbocho, and though Futaba was uncertain about traveling somewhere unfamiliar without her mother, she also felt excited at the prospect of going somewhere with her newfound friends. As they walked toward the station, Futaba marveled at how seamlessly she'd been integrated into Hifumi and Kitagawa's group. She felt extremely happy that she'd asked Hifumi about directions that morning, otherwise things might have ended up like at her last school, and that was a prospect she didn't want to think about.  
The ride to Jimbocho went unusually smooth for Futaba, who usually got anxiety from only thinking about boarding a small vehicle packed to the brim with random people who she would have to stand uncomfortably close to. This time however, she could distract herself by listening as Hifumi rattled of the titles of all the books she was planning to buy, and by the time they got off, Futaba felt almost none of the anxiety which normally plagued her whilst riding the subway.

 

Immediately after stepping of the train, Hifumi was practically dragging Futaba and Kitagawa forward. She let out excited gasps and shouts when she spotted advertisements, whilst simultaneously walking at an almost inhuman pace straight toward the center of Jimbocho. Futaba had to jog to keep up, and thus was only dimly aware of her surroundings. She could see Kitagawa in a similar situation to her right, but he seemed used to Hifumi's vigor (and plus, with his giant legs, he barely broke a sweat. Cheater.)

Because of this, it took a while before Futaba noticed that her blue-haired acquaintance (friend?) wasn't walking next to her anymore. Suddenly feeling a pang of anxiety once again, Futaba spun around and tried to spot him in the crowd. Logically, she knew that Kitagawa was most likely fine. He probably knew exactly where Hifumi was going, and was perfectly capable of getting there without Futaba's supervision. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Why wasn't he following them, and why hadn't he said anything if he'd planned to go off on his own? Futaba stood on her tiptoes, but the crowd was still far to dense and everyone was to tall. She couldn't see Kitagawa anywhere. Of course, she wasn't worried exactly, she was merely looking for him so she'd be able to yell at him for leaving her and Hifumi all alone. That was all.

Futaba tapped her friends shoulder and told her to go ahead. Hifumi looked kind of confused, but it was clear she'd rather head straight toward her store as fast as possible, so Futaba reassured her that everything was fine. Hifumi looked dubious, but pointed Futaba in the direction of the store so she'd know where to go afterwards and then hurried onward. Futaba suddenly felt very small and the immense crowd around her felt suffocating. Still, she braved her fears and ventured back the way she came to try to find Kitagawa. She eventually reached an empty alley, where she could see nothing but a few dumpsters and a stray cat, who'd curled up on top of the largest dumpster and seemed to be asleep. Futaba scanned through the crowd again, and this time her eyes landed on a figure with blue hair, who was seemingly staring into space, standing in an alley much like the one Futaba was currently in, but on the opposite side of the road.

Resigning to her fate, Futaba took a deep breath, before once again braving the great and terrible wall of Jimbocho tourists. Being as small as she was actually proved advantageous, as she could easily slip by most people, and she was able to get to the other side of the road fairly easily. Still, she was thoroughly out of breath when she finally reached the other alley, and was (understandably) both annoyed and slightly angry with Kitagawa for disappearing on her and for making her look for him.  
Her angry expression melted away as soon as she could see his face properly however, and Futaba covered her mouth with one hand in shock. She approached the blue-haired boy timidly, and whispered  
“What happened?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a panic attack, so I wanted to warn about that. There's also (Though described only briefly) mentions of suicidal thoughts.   
> Like it says in the tags, however, this story isn't angst-focused, so if you're not comfortable with this subject material, you could probably skip this chapter, or skim through it, and still enjoy the following chapters.

Yusuke was only dimly aware of the sounds of Jimbocho around him. It felt kind of similar to when he was painting and spaced out, all of his attention focused on the motions of his brush and the colors on his pallet. But this was very different from painting.  
Instead of a serene calm enveloping his being, Yusuke only felt a deep rooted fear so powerful that it caused his blood to freeze. His gaze was blurring with tears, his entire body trembling and his breath came in short puffs. Still, the scenes played in front of his eyes, like a morbid movie that someone had set to repeat, over and over again.

He was four years old, running down the street and throwing himself into his arms, relishing in the warmth and security of his embrace, and giggling when he lifted him high in the air-

He was six, and had won his first big competition. He remembered all the people that had crowded him. There were people with cameras, ladies with way too much lipstick, holding up microphones. They shouted at him, and he was scared. He didn't know these people, why were everyone shouting at him?  
Suddenly he heard his voice. He sounded angry, and Yusuke became even more frightened. Why was he mad? Wasn't this a good thing? Then all of the people suddenly stopped shouting. They stepped aside and Yusuke saw him looking at him with pride shining in his eyes. He put a hand on Yusuke's shoulder and started leading him away from the building. Yusuke was so happy he thought he might explode-

He was sixteen, and had been called to his office. He was sitting in his chair, but he stood when Yusuke entered the room.  
“Yusuke, my son-”  
Yusuke felt happiness spread in his chest, he hadn't called him that since he'd been a child  
“Due to the recent theft, I have gradually been losing the will to paint...”  
Yusuke listened and felt anger well up inside him. How dare someone steal away his most prized possession and cause him this much anguish! And how dare the selfish buyers demand new art pieces, when he clearly was struggling?!

Yusuke answer came without a moment’s hesitation.  
Of course Yusuke would do anything to be of use. He would gladly use his talents to be of use to him, as was his duty as a protege. And besides, it wasn't like he could refuse. He had nowhere to go, after all-

That horrible day, everything was a blur. He remembered opening the door to find a policeman on the other side. They had busted in, despite his protests and taken Yusuke away to the station. He'd screamed and cried, insisting over and over again that he was innocent, he had done nothing wrong. It wasn't until the trial that he learned the horrible truth, and even then, it had felt unreal. There was no way his sensei- his father had done such horrible things. No way he'd let her die-

 

He was standing on the rooftop, looking down with a neutral expression on his face. The world had seemed utterly meaningless ever since that day, devoid of color and life. Yusuke was lost without his guidance, he might as well end it once and for all.

Someone was calling out. A brown haired girl was standing next to him. She reached out her hand, and suddenly the colors returned-

 

“-..at happened?”

Something was disturbing him, the sound buzzing in his ears like an annoying wasp.

“Are you alright? Answer me Kitagawa!”

It was more urgent, pulling Yusuke closer and closer to the light. But the visions wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop the pain from flooding him, dragging him down, down down.

“Yusuke! LISTEN!!”

He fell backwards, vaguely aware of the concrete beneath him as he tumbled to the ground, hoisting himself up by the elbows. Only one person yelled at him like that. Only one person used his first name like that. His mind was racing again, glimpses of memories surfacing so fast, he had no chance of keeping up. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled into a ball, but he couldn't keep them out. Couldn't keep him out.

“I want you to think about what you've done!”

“How dare you disgrace me like this!”

“What have you done, they're completely ruined!”

Yusuke! Yusuke! Yusuke!

“Open your eyes Yusuke!”  
Slowly, he obliged, but instead of his sensei's dark eyes, he met a pair of wide brown ones. He looked right at Futaba Isshiki.

She was sitting in front of him, with a smile on her face. He realized she was talking, but his mind was racing and his ears were ringing and he couldn't hear what she was saying. He felt panic well up again, but Isshiki took one of his hands in her own and placed it on her chest. She was breathing deeply, in and out, and Yusuke could feel her chest rise and fall in slow, steady motions. He tried to match his breathing to hers, and found that the fog lifted from his vision and his hearing slowly returned. That's when he realized what she'd been saying.

“Breathe, in and out. Yeah, just like that, c'me on, we'll do it together. Breathe. Breathe”

He stopped shaking. His chest stopped hurting as bad. The panic receded and he felt the blood return to his face and hands. Every second felt like an eternity, but Isshiki's steady breathing and calming voice was slowly bringing him back to reality. He slowly sat back up, leaning against a viridian dumpster. Isshiki looked him over carefully, and then moved to sit beside him. Now that he'd come back to reality, he realized what an incredibly awkward situation he was in. Next to him was a girl that he'd only known for a day, and not only that, she also hated him. Now, this girl had seen him in one of his weakest moments. He felt his cheeks burn, and looked down at the ground.

“Y'know, you don't have to talk about it, but it might help.”

Yusuke didn't move and gave no reaction, but her words had stirred an equal amount of relief and anger within him. Maybe Isshiki had been right, maybe talking about it would help lessen the pain, but she had no idea what he'd been through. Who was this girl, this stranger, to tell him what would help?

“I'm guessing this is what triggered it?”

Yusuke didn't have to look up to know what she meant. It was a poster advertising “The great Ichiryusai Madarame's latest art exhibit” He'd thought all of them were taken down after the arrest, but apparently some had been missed.

“I think I went to one of these one time, but I never really understood the appeal. I guess I don't get why people pay money to see some scribbles on paper. I spent most of the time by the snack table, there was a nice lady there who gave me apple juice. The highlight of the exhibit was that goddamned juice, if you ask me.”

This got Yusuke's attention. His head whipped up and he faced Isshiki with a furious look on his face.

“How could you possibly say something so uncultured! Art is a way for an artist to express themselves! To show their emotions, their values, their very soul. They slave day and night to make the perfect piece and you have the audacity to belittle their efforts by comparing their masterful work to the likes of- of-”

Yusuke trailed off when he saw the smirk on Isshiki's face and the twinkle in her eyes. The dim lighting and her bright hair, coupled with her sitting cross legged and looking at him mischievously made her look like a forest sprite. He imagined her out making trouble for unwary wood-cutters who were attacking the wrong trees.

He chuckled

“Ah, were you perhaps trying to distract me?”

Isshiki laughed deviously and her smirk grew wider.

“Did it work?”

Yusuke laughed at the absurdity of it all. He'd thought he had gotten past this, but it would seem that the trauma still plagued him to this day. Still, he hadn't been alone and he hadn't let it consume him. Plus, he had a hunch that this failure might lead to future victories. It was as Hifumi always said. “Sometimes sacrificing one small piece is necessary, in order for another greater one to complete their mission.”

He looked over at the girl next to him, and suddenly felt immensely grateful for her aid. She had helped him come to his senses and without her he would probably have fainted. He turned to her, ready to express his gratitude, but the words wouldn't come out. He was suddenly acutely aware of how pathetic he seemed, and how pitiful Isshiki must find him. Would she even appreciate a show of gratitude, were he to offer it?

Still he had to try, so he prepared himself for the worst, and turned to face her. Cheeks burning, he stuttered,

“Isshiki-chan, I'd like you to know -that is- I hope that you- y-you understand that- that I am very g-grateful for- for everything, that is of course– helping me with- with this.”

Futaba looked partly amused, partly pitying, and partly touched by his bumbling attempt at thanks, but she smiled even brighter and broke in before Yusuke could embarrass himself any further.

“Actually, this might be kinda strange, but could you like, call me Futaba? I feel totally weird when people call me Isshiki, it feels like they're talking to my mom or something”

Yusuke was slightly taken aback, but nodded.

“Very well Ish- Futaba. Please feel free to call me Yusuke as well.”

Futaba picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the opposing wall.

“Hmm.. yeah, I'll consider it.” She winked mischievously. Yusuke smiled as well. He felt much better now.

They sat in companionable silence for a moment, then Futaba stood up and brushed off her skirt.

“We should probably go before Hifumi starts to worry.”

Yusuke nodded in agreement, but he wasn't quite ready to leave yet.

“Futaba, might I ask you something personal?”

Futaba looked at him curiously.

“Depends, whaddaya want to know? Just so you know though, I'm not telling you my bra size. That is one secret I'll take to my grave.”

Yusuke chuckled.

“No thank you, I witnessed the fate of the previous person to ask that question, and I would not wish that upon my worst enemy.”

Returning to the topic, he cleared his throat.

“Futaba, how did you know what to do when I had that panic attack? That's not exactly knowledge I'd think a high school student would possess.”

Futaba looked shocked for a moment, then somber. She looked down, and said in a low voice.

“I have them too. Not as much now, but they surprise me sometimes. I just copied what my mom does.”

Yusuke was confused, but not surprised. He'd figured that the answer would be something like that. He had trouble imagining what Futaba could possibly be struggling with. She'd seemed like such a happy and carefree girl. Even so, he wouldn't press any further. He didn't want to share his reasons, so he wouldn't force Futaba to share hers either. He simply nodded, and stood.

“Very well, we should get going then.”

Futaba nodded and reached out her hand pointedly. Yusuke looked at it curiously.

“You want to... hold my hand?”

Futaba rolled her eyes.

“Duuh. I already lost you once in this crowd, I'm not about to do that again!”

Yusuke still stared at her outstretched hand, unable to determine if she was actually serious. He'd never held a girl's hand before, not that he'd held a guy's either. He wondered if there was a difference.

“C'me on Inari, take my hand already!”

He looked up in confusion.

“Inari?”

She shrugged

“You like foxes, right? Isn't there a God or something, somewhere who's called that?”

“Actually, that's Oinari, but that's not the point! I thought we agreed to use first names?”

Futaba batted her eyelashes playfully.  
“Actuallyyy... I said I'd consider it. Plus, your name is hard to pronounce.”

She pouted, but Yusuke could see the mirth twinkling in her eyes.

“Yusuke is hardly difficult to pronounce, and you were screaming it less than ten minutes ago!”

“Firstly, Uh, yeah it is. Secondly, that was an emergency. And thirdly, weren't we gonna go now?”

Yusuke realized that this was a battle he would never win, and conceded, following Futaba to the bookshop where Hifumi was waiting. During the trip, he found that Futaba's hand was very small compared to his own, and very soft. He felt a happy sort of tugging in his chest when he looked at their intertwined hands, but quickly dismissed the feeling as some remnants of the emotional storm he'd endured.

 

Even so, when Futaba finally let go of his hand to enter the bookshop, he felt oddly disheartened. He wondered what that feeling could mean, but before he could consider it further, Hifumi was showing him the books she'd bought and Futaba was insisting they get ice cream before going home.  
Sorting through his emotions would have to wait.


	8. Chapter 8

As time progressed, Futaba was slowly completely integrated into Hifumi and Yusuke's group. They'd sit outside and eat while Futaba and Hifumi played shogi and Yusuke sketched whatever came to mind in one of his many sketchbooks. Hifumi claimed it helped her learn new moves even though Futaba was clearly outmatched. Yusuke, she also met up with after school when they studied together in the data lab.

This was actually kind of awesome. Futaba could never have dreamed that she'd make friends this quick immediately after switching schools. And it wasn't like she was part of some excluded “nerd group” that nobody else acknowledged either. She had gotten to know everyone in her class, and she could at least remember their name and make some pleasant enough small talk if the need arose. (She wholeheartedly hoped it wouldn't though. Small talk was her least developed skill tree)

 

She did enjoy spending time with her two friends though, particularly her study sessions with Yusuke in the evenings and, as it turns out, Yusuke was actually very good at math. He'd helped Futaba understand questions or formulas on more than one occasion. Technology was a different story though. Futaba had once joked that he had the tech-knowledge of an 80 year old man, meaning, absolutely none at all. For crying out loud, she'd had to show him how emails worked. He'd been particularly curious about emoji s ever since Futaba introduced him to the concept, and would question her at length about the various components and how they communicated images and feelings.

It was during one of these sessions that Hifumi burst in to the room. She slammed the door behind her hard enough to even jostle Yusuke, who had been in the middle of the “artistic process” behind creating a new emoji.  
Futaba spun her chair so she was facing Hifumi, who was walking toward their table. She sat down across from Yusuke and put two pieces of paper on the table.  
Futaba immediately snatched one up and held it against the light. She squinted, but couldn't make out what was written. Hifumi chuckled at her.

“This is some kind of black magic, isn't it?” Futaba frowned. “Is it a spell? Perhaps life-steal or brainwash? It's illegible!”

Hifumi hid a smile behind her hand and leaned over the table.

“Actually, it's an invitation. It's written in an old dialect, that's probably why you can't read it.” She reached out and plucked the piece of paper from Futaba's hand. “Also, you were holding it upside down.”

She smoothed it out and put the paper on the table. Futaba hovered excitedly over it whilst simultaneously elbowing Yusuke, who'd still not looked up from his sketchbook. He glanced irritably at her, then promptly went pack to drawing. Futaba was not one to back down from a challenge however, and in an attempt to rouse the artist, walked over to his chair and waved a hand in front of his eyes. She snapped her fingers, but to no avail. She even tried to forcibly remove Yusuke's sketchbook, but the artist proved to be much stronger than his slim frame would let on. She looked at Hifumi for guidance, and the brown-haired girl stood up, walked over, and slammed her hand down next to Yusuke's book with a blow that Futaba was pretty certain was capable of killing a man. Yusuke blinked once, then pushed his book away and looked up at Hifumi with a serene smile on his face. Hifumi glanced at the opened page and looked thoroughly confused.

“What are you- wait. Is that an emoji?”

 

Fifteen minutes and a lecture from Yusuke about the various intricacies in making an emoji, Futaba was lying on the table, kicking her legs in the air.

“C'me on Inari, school is over for today.” Futaba whined. She thought it best to stop him before Yusuke got really invested, at which point he'd most likely talk for another hour at least. That, was not something Futaba was prepared to deal with, especially not after listening to her biology teacher drone on about “being one with nature, and sensing it with all available emotions” for half an hour earlier that day.  
Luckily she seemed to get through to Yusuke, who slowly came back to reality and shut his sketchbook. Hifumi shot her a thankful look and Futaba returned it by flashing a peace sign.

“I apologize for boring you, Futaba.” Yusuke flushed and cleared his throat. “Now then, Hifumi. You had something to tell us, yes?”  
He looked over at the girl, who'd busied herself with braiding Futaba's hair into two long braids on either side of her head. She finished the second one and Futaba immediately sat up and shook her head, making the two braids swish around in the air and nearly hitting Yusuke in the face.

“Feels weird.” Futaba stated and began to pull the braids curiously.

“Yes,” Hifumi started, suddenly seeming to remember the reason she's come down to meet them. She picked up the two pieces of paper and handed one to Yusuke and one to Futaba.  
“These are invitations to a shogi tournament I will be participating in.” She suddenly blushed and looked down at her lap. “I was hoping you might want to attend.”

Futaba slowly processed this new information. Hifumi wanted her to go with her to a tournament. She wanted Futaba to be there and cheer her on.  
A huge smile spread across her face. Futaba had never been invited anywhere at all prior to enrolling at Kosei High, never mind actually being invited to a tournament. That was a big deal.

“This is the yearly tournament hosted by the JSA, is it not?” Yusuke looked at Hifumi with a smile on his face. “Very well. I will definitely clear my schedule.” Hifumi looked grateful, and Futaba was quick to voice her agreement as well. She'd never been to a shogi tournament before, and she didn't know anything about the game outside of the extremely limited knowledge she had from playing on her computer and what Hifumi had taught her, but she figured that trying something new might be a nice change. Besides, Hifumi was clearly looking forward to going, and if Hifumi wanted Futaba to be there, she would definitely be there.


	9. Chapter 9

The day of Hifumi's tournament didn't start well for Yusuke. The air had been uncomfortably humid and very hot, this resulting in him being close to delirium from the warmth (combined with the fact that he'd stayed up almost the entire night worrying for Hifumi.)  
Though he hadn't told Futaba, this tournament was a big deal for his friend. She'd dreamed of being able to play in the annual JSA tournament ever since she was small but since children hadn't been allowed before, she hadn't had the chance. Yusuke knew Hifumi's dream was to one day become the first female to ever earn the title of kishi, the shogi equivalent of a true master. She'd been dead set on it ever since she first heard that no woman had ever been awarded the title, and this had since become her main goal. He also knew that this tournament was her first step toward this dream and he understood how crushing it would be for her if something went wrong.

Straightening his shirt collar, Yusuke turned around at the sound of his name being shouted. He looked over to see Futaba sprinting down the sidewalk, tangerine hair flowing behind her and arms flailing wildly. She screeched to a halt right in front of him and straightened her big glasses with one hand whilst simultaneously spitting out a stray hair that had gotten in her mouth.  
They had decided to walk together to the tournament since Futaba didn't know the way and Hifumi had to be there earlier to prepare. Yusuke couldn't deny he was pleased. Over the last couple of weeks, Futaba had really grown on him and he found himself missing her witty banter and adorable childishness whenever they were apart. Right now, the redhead was being uncharacteristically quiet however. There was no skipping down the sidewalk or carefree badgering, and Yusuke found himself wondering if something was wrong. Before he could inquire however, Futaba broke the silence.

“Will there be a lot of people there?”

She was keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, but Yusuke could read the tension in her body regardless. He knew that Futaba had trouble with large crowds, but he hadn't realized that might be a problem. He tried his best to reassure his friend.

“Well, it isn't anything grand, but I imagine it might feel a bit cramped after a while.”

He realized his mistake when Futaba hunched over slightly, her expression becoming solemn.

“If it bothers you, you can stay close to me. I promise I won't lose sight of you.”

Yusuke felt kind of foolish saying something so condescending. “I promise I won't lose sight of you” felt like something a knight in shining armor might say to reassure his beloved. Immediately after thinking this, his cheeks heated up and Yusuke had to fight to keep his breathing level as he tried to regain composure. Luckily, Futaba hadn't noticed and his words had coaxed a small smile from her. She giggled, and regained some of the spring in her step.

“Yeah, you're so tall I probably couldn't lose you even if I wanted to. You're like a walking red light!”

Yusuke chuckled along with her, pleased to have his friend back. The happy mood persisted until they reached the building where the tournament was to be held. Futaba shrank back and seemed to inch closer to him with every step (not that Yusuke minded) and as they opened the front door, she was practically standing on his feet. The competition was being held in a middle-school, though there were no students or teachers since it was a Sunday. The hot air, combined with all of the audience, made for a humid and stuffy environment that Yusuke felt the moment he stepped inside and he heard Futaba's breath hitch at the sight of the crowd. To assure her, Yusuke took her hand in his, hoping desperately that his palms weren't as sweaty as he thought.

“Who'd you think I am? Inari, some fairy princess?”  
Futaba muttered vexedly but Yusuke could hear some relief in her voice. He remembered Hifumi had told them to meet her by the vending machines so he started to pull Futaba along, breathing a sigh of relief as they left the crowded entrance and escaped to the much calmer corridors.  
Yusuke spotted Hifumi standing next to the vending machines talking to a girl with short brown hair and a white long shirt. She waved as she spotted Yusuke and started to walk toward them. Futaba looked happy to see her, but was still shying away from the other girl and stubbornly holding on to Yusuke's hand. She peered at the girl from beneath her bangs with a guarded expression and muttered,

“Unidentified entity spotted, requesting immediate aid.”

Yusuke felt a wave of affection for the strange, awkward girl behind him. He knew how jarring it could be to meet new people, and he could feel Futaba's tense grip on his hand . Her discomfort made him feel a strange irritation, and he subconsciously stepped in front of the red-head and gripped her hand tighter. They came face to face with the two girls and Hifumi stepped forward to introduce them.

“Yusuke, Futaba, this is my friend Makoto Nijima.” She pointed to the girl beside her who gave a polite bow and smiled. Hifumi turned to Nijima and completed the introductions. Yusuke smiled and tried to offer a handshake, before realizing that Futaba still held his right hand and apparently she was not about to let go for even a second. He gave a sheepish smile, making Nijima chuckle.

Hifumi explained that Nijima was, like herself, participating in the female shogi competition. Apparently they had met at a previous competition and had been good friends ever since. Yusuke was kind of surprised that Hifumi hadn't introduced them earlier, though he supposed he hadn't really known Hifumi that long. This was the first proper competition he attended with his friend, after all.

Nijima turned out to be a friendly girl, though she could seem a little stuffy at times. Yusuke could sense her strong will and unwavering determination, a trait that she shared with Hifumi, and it was clear why Hifumi had befriended her. Yusuke found himself thankful that Hifumi had such a wonderful friend who shared her passion for Shogi.  
Even Futaba seemed to relax slightly, though she still refused to leave Yusuke's side for anything and held his hand hostage for the duration of the conversation. The mischievous glint was back in her eyes, and she eyed the two brunettes with a knowing look. Yusuke didn't know whether to feel grateful that she'd seemed to warm up to Nijima, or concerned. The last time she'd had that look on her face had been the time she'd drawn a picture of the Featherman Rangers on the teachers blackboard and signed it with the headmasters signature, something that had since become something of a running joke throughout the school. Now, every time there was a drawing signed by somebody famous Futaba proudly declared it her “legacy being carried on by her loyal followers.”

Eventually, the group had to split up since the competition was about to start. They decided to meet up at the same place afterwards and the brunettes wandered off to meet the other competitors. Futaba pulled Yusuke aside with a gleeful smile plastered on her face. She stood on her toes to try to whisper in his ear but, finding the height difference too great, opted to simply pull him down to a crouch instead. She leaned close.

“Hey Inari! Weren't they just adorable?”

Yusuke blinked in confusion.  
“Hifumi and Nijima-san? Whatever makes you say that?”

Futaba snickered. “Oh Inari, you truly are too innocent.” She smirked, mirth shining in her eyes. “Those two are so crushing on each other.”

Yusuke stared at her in confusion before what she'd said slowly sank in. He looked in the direction the two girls had gone with bewilderment shining in his eyes.

“How on earth did you-” Futaba cut him off, waving her hand in dismissal.

“C'me on, a blind man could see that! But more importantly, how do we get them together?”

Futaba was practically bouncing with excitement and her gaze was so intense, Yusuke had to avert his eyes. Futaba didn't seem to notice however, as she was in the middle of planning her impromptu “matchmaking-scheme.”  
She was pacing back and forth, muttering ideas to herself before shaking her head and banging her fist on the vending machine glass. Once in a while she would look over at him, as if assuring herself he hadn't disappeared. This would probably have made Yusuke smile, had he been fully conscious, but he was still struggling to fit the concept of “crushing” on to his mental image of Hifumi.  
He'd never really considered her as having romantic feelings, though that seemed stupid now that he considered it. They had never really talked about romance, and he'd had no idea that Hifumi liked girls. Now that he thought about it, it did make sense though. He'd never seen Hifumi as much as look at a guy, and although there had been some rumors when they first became friends, she'd never implied liking him either. He did wonder how on earth Futaba had figured it out so quickly though. He was supposed to be the one who really knew Hifumi, having known her for almost a year longer than Futaba, but somehow she'd seen right through the other girl without so much as breaking a sweat.

He looked over at Futaba who had quit her pacing and resorted to sitting on the floor next to the vending machine with her back crouched and arms hanging in front of her like a monkey, apparently deep in thought. Yusuke could hear her mumbling and an occasional grunt of displeasure. He couldn't resist smiling at the sight. Futaba really was quite adorable, like a ray of sunshine filtering in through the curtains of a window. She had burst into Yusuke's life with a bang, and even though he had resented her at the time, he was glad they had ran into each other that day in the comic-store.

“Hey Inari, stop that! You're looking at me funny!”

Futaba snapped her fingers in front of Yusuke's eyes, causing him to snap back to reality. As soon as he saw Futaba standing in front of him (when had she gotten up?) with crossed arms and a displeased look on her face he realized what had happened and immediately turned beet-red.

“Ah- I was just-”

“Never mind, that's not important. More so, I've found it! I have the perfect plan to get Hifumi and Nijima-chan together!”

Yusuke felt relief bubbling in his chest. Right, that's what they had been talking about. Hifumi and Nijima-san. Still, he couldn't keep the swelling affection that he felt whenever he gazed upon the smiling, tangerine-haired girl from showing.  
Yusuke cleared his throat.

“Right. So, if I may ask, what exactly is this brilliant plan of yours?”

Futaba grinned impishly, snickering.

“Listen well, young padawan. I will show you the secrets!”

She held her arms out in a dramatic gesture and Yusuke had to fight the urge to smile adoringly. Really, what was going on with him today?

“We'll take them to a secluded area. Somewhere romantic, but not to obvious. We can use the competition as an excuse, say it's a celebration or something.”

Yusuke nodded slowly, trying to force his traitorous mind to get back to the subject.

“And when everything's perfectly set up, we'll figure out some excuse and leave them to it! It's guaranteed to work!”

Futaba looked incredibly pleased with herself and Yusuke had to admit, it did sound like a good plan, considering it had been made up completely on the spot. There was just one problem.

“If I may, where exactly should we execute this elaborate scheme?”

Futaba smirked devilishly.

“Leave that to me! I know the perfect place.”

Yusuke was more than a little concerned to leave anything in the care of this reckless whirlwind of a girl but he had to admit, her plan was good and if it hadn't been for her, Yusuke definitely wouldn't have known about Hifum and Nijima until they themselves broke the news (If that would even happen. Yusuke still wasn't sure how this whole crushing thing worked.)

They would have discussed the plan more thoroughly, but a voice interrupted them.

“Hey what are you two doing? The competition is about to start!”

Yusuke twirled around to meet the gaze of a dark haired man. Futaba immediately resumed her death-grip on his hand and shied away from the stranger. The man pointed them toward a door and when they entered, they saw shogi boards lying on the floor in rows. They navigated toward Hifumi kneeling by a board and found a seat where they could observe her performance. Yusuke spotted Nijima-san a few rows down as well. They took their seats and right afterwards the door slammed shut.

Yusuke could see Hifumi meeting the gaze of her opponent, a small looking Asian girl with short, black hair and even though he was sitting a couple meters away, he could clearly see determination shining in his friend's eyes. He smiled, knowing she would do anything and everything in her power to win.

A man's voice rang out, and the competition began.


	10. Chapter 10

Three hours into the competition, and Yusuke’s anxiety was back. He sat stiffly in his seat, staring at Hifumi as she moved a piece on her board. Her face was beaded with sweat and her expression betrayed only intense concentration. This was the second game Hifumi participated in, having won the first one with relative ease. That initial victory had almost been enough to relieve Yusuke of some stress, but as Hifumi’s opponent claimed more and more of her pieces, he started to worry again. 

They were currently tied with 10 pieces each, but Yusuke knew that didn’t mean much. In shogi, the real battle takes place in the minds of the players. Pieces on the board didn’t mean anything if one of the contestants were able to accurately predict the other’s moves. 

A crash to his right let Yusuke know that Futaba had returned from her “quest to gather provisions” as she had put it. She bent down to pick up the package of gummy bears that she’d dropped, unloading three bags of chips and two sodas in Yusuke’s lap as she did. 

They watched together as the game drew to a close. Futaba’s constant chattering next to him was proving to be somewhat of a comfort, and Yusuke found himself feeling much more at ease. She was also excellent at explaining some of the more obscure moves players made since she knew all of the strategies, though her commentary was far from unbiased. (“Dude, that move would have been 10 times cooler if you’d put the king there before moving the knight.”)

Hifumi ended up winning after another 20 minutes of intense playing. When she stood up and bowed to her opponent, Yusuke could see the happiness on her face, radiating of her in waves. He knew very well how hard Hifumi had worked to make this happen, and he felt immensely proud of his friend. Futaba was bouncing up and down in her seat, and Yusuke had to discreetly restrain her to keep her from disturbing the other players (whilst simultaneously forcing down the adoring smile that threatened to form at the sight. Really, what was wrong with him today?)

Having no reason to keep watching the competition, the pair quietly left the playing hall. Once outside of the stuffy room, they saw Hifumi waiting by the vending machine, deep in conversation with Nijima Makoto. 

Futaba’s smile grew devilish when she saw the two girls. 

“It is time to put our plan into action!”  
“Aw man, we’re like secret agents or something, we should have a calling card! Yeah that would be so awesome!”   
Yusuke cocked an eyebrow, but before he could answer Futaba was pulling him by the hand towards the two girls. 

Hifumi broke into a huge grin when she saw the pair. She ran up to them, talking excitedly about the matches and the tournament while Yusuke nodded along, trying desperately to keep up with the girl’s pace. Despite that he tried to keep up, offering smiles and nods at the (he hoped) appropriate times. He truly was pleased, seeing Hifumi this happy. Seeing the girl truly carefree was a rare occurrence, but when it happened Yusuke was immediately infected with her energy. Hifumi had done so much for him, but he hadn’t gotten the chance to return the favor. 

“Congratulations on your victory, Hifumi. I know how much this means to you.”

Hifumi’s eyes sparkled and her smile grew even wider. 

“Well yes, I am happy the competition went well. But I am even more happy that you are here.”

Yusuke was confused. He’d thought Shogi was the most important thing to his friend. Surely his presence wouldn’t impact that in any way. He didn’t even know that much about Shogi, and he was struggling to understand why Hifumi valued his presence so highly. 

“Surely you don’t mean-” 

Hifumi cut him off mid sentence. She poked him in the chest disgruntledly.

“Of course I’m happy. You’re my best friend Yusuke, your support really matters.” 

“But-” 

“Oh listen here dummy!”  
She fixed him with a stare that made the hairs on Yusuke’s neck stand up. 

“You. Are. Important. To. Me.” 

She stepped back, hands on her hips, and Yusuke smiled sheepishly. 

“Very well. I concede.”

Hifumi snorted. 

“You’d better. This is one battle I won’t forfeit.” 

Yusuke thought back to his childhood. He’s always felt a special warmth whenever sensei had been with him on exhibits or appraising his work. He figured this might be something similar. He felt honoured that Hifumi valued his opinion so highly, but a little frightened too. Having someone care so much about you brought with it new anxieties after all. 

“Alright, so if the two of you are done with your marriage dispute, I have something to announce!” 

Yusuke smiled. Leave it to Futaba to interrupt him just when he needed it. She always managed to distract him from his racing mind. 

“Me and Inari think we should have a celebration, y’know since both of you won your matches.” 

So Nijima had won hers as well. Yusuke felt a strange feeling of victory. If both of them had won, it would be easier to convince Nijima to come with them for a celebration. They could disguise it as- wait. When had he become so invested in the “plan” to get Hifumi and Nijima together?

Yusuke let Futaba explain, but he couldn’t help the feeling of excitement blossoming in his chest. Would they actually be able to pull this off?   
Apparently Futaba wanted to hold the celebration at a place called Cafe Leblanc where she claimed they served the best curry in Japan. She also seemed to know the owner because she was certain she could “at least bully Sojiro into giving them a discount” as she put it. 

As predicted, both Hifumi and Nijima seemed to like the idea. They decided to take the subway together since Leblanc was situated in Yongen-Jaya, quite a ways from where they were currently. Thus, Yusuke found himself on a train going somewhere he’d never been before, with three girls his age. He realized this would have never happened had he been by himself, or even just him and Hifumi. Maybe Futaba’s sense of adventure was rubbing off on all of them. 

Still, he felt himself aching to know more about the girl. He realized that despite having known her for a while now, he still had so many questions. Who was this girl who had, quite literally, crashed into his life? Who could rattle of chemical formulas or book titles off the top of her head, but struggled to talk to shop keepers or street vendors without stuttering? The girl who’d told him she sometimes experienced panic attacks, yet kept smiling brightly like nothing in the world bothered her. 

They had never really talked about the incident in Jimbocho, though Yusuke had caught Futaba sneaking a few concerned glances his way a few times since then. He realized she must be wondering too, which made sense since he hadn’t explained the reason behind his attack either. Since most people he encountered had heard about it from the media, he hadn’t needed to explain it to them. Telling Futaba, seemed somehow wrong, like he would infect her with prejudice against him. He knew this was ridiculous of course, but that didn’t quell the anxiety.   
Well, he supposed continuing that train of thought would have to wait until later, as a recorded female voice from the speakers let him know that the next stop would be Yongen-Jaya, where they would get off.

 

 

Yusuke’s first impression of Yongen-Jaya was admittedly, slight disappointment. It looked like any ordinary neighbourhood. Narrow streets winded between dirty houses with unkempt lawns, trash and cigarettes lined the sidewalks, and most of the streetlights flickered. He supposed he’d figured any place Futaba Sakura liked would be more… colorful. 

But as Futaba led them through the streets, pointing out landmarks like   
“Look, that’s the old man who once sold me a freaking TV suuper cheap,” or “That cinema is owned by really old people. They’re nice though, tells me they’ll give me free popcorn if I ever bring a boyfriend over” he started to see the place in a different light. 

Futaba waved and greeted almost everybody, and they all smiled in return. She even left their group to join a couple of kids playing tag on the sidewalk at one point. Yusuke could easily imagine a smaller version of Futaba sprinting down the narrow pathways, hair flying in the wind while pedestrians stepped out of the way to avoid a collision. 

Suddenly the dim lights made the roads look homely and inviting, instead of dirty. Yusuke found himself wanting to capture the atmosphere in art, turning the dark paths into brushstrokes on a canvas. He smiled at the thought, and wondered if Futaba would like a painting of the place. 

Finally, after waving goodbye to the alleged TV-salesman, they ended up outside of Cafe Leblanc. It was a quaint place, the warm light from the windows bathing the dark red doors in a homely light. It felt like the kind of hole in the wall cafe that you’d walk right by a thousand times, only to walk in and find yourself in a completely different world. Futaba ran right up to the doors, and barged in, shouting at somebody named Sojiro to “get his ass out from behind the counter and greet her new friends.” 

Yusuke curiously entered the shop, holding the door for Hifumi and Nijima. A dark haired boy with big glasses stood behind the counter, he waved at Futaba when he noticed them. 

“Hi Futaba, Sojiro went to buy some cigarettes, I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” 

He pushed his glasses up, regarding Yusuke and the others curiously. 

“I presume you are Futaba’s friends from Kosei? My name is Akira Kurusu, nice to meet you.”

They introduced themselves, and Futaba explained why they were there. Kurusu immediately agreed to make them curry, and told them to make themselves at home. 

“I’m just a barista, so I’m not as good at cooking as the Boss, but I’ll do my best” he said, while showing them to a table.   
“It’s good to have some people here again. It’s been a slow day, and being a barista gets pretty lonely when there’s nobody to brew coffee for.”

Only now did Yusuke notice that the cafe seemed completely vacant, despite it being early evening. He wondered why, since cafe Leblanc seemed like a nice place. 

Before they sat down, Futaba pulled on his arm.   
“Hey, just follow my lead. We’re gonna do this!” she whispered conspiratorially.

She climbed into the seat in front of her and pulled on Yusuke’s arm to make him sit next to her. Nijima gave them a smile before sitting down opposite Futaba, Hifumi following closely behind. Not long after, Kurusu appeared again, holding four cups of coffee. He put them down on the table. 

“Thanks Akira!” Futaba chimed, reaching for a cup. 

Kurusu chuckled and smiled. “Always a pleasure, Futaba. I’ll go get the cardamom.” 

Futaba grinned and Yusuke sent her a curious glance. 

“Hey, coffee is like, 10 000 times better with cardamom.” 

“I second that!” Kurusu’s voice sounded from the back of the cafe. Everybody laughed and he poked his face out, smiling widely. 

Cafe Leblanc had such a welcoming atmosphere, everybody felt at ease. They made small talk while they waited for their food, Kurusu occasionally chiming in with a comment from the kitchen. Honestly, it was probably the most fun Yusuke had experienced in a long time. Him and Hifumi, while being good friends, had never really done many activities outside of school. And besides, there was a certain feeling when you were part of a group that you didn’t get when you were alone or with only one person. Yusuke realized with shock that the last time he’d felt like this had been when he was living with sensei and the other pupils. He’d only been a child then, and he hadn’t realized just how badly he’d missed it. 

Kurusu came back, carrying four steaming plates with curry. He placed them on the table, making a show of bowing deeply as he put Futaba’s food on the table. She practically squealed in delight, and hurriedly blew on the food to make it cool down. Yusuke had to admit, it smelled divine. He himself was quite excited to taste what Futaba had proudly described as “the best curry in Japan.” 

As soon as Kurusu had left the table, Hifumi leaned over, eyes gleaming. 

“So Futaba, is that your boyfriend?”

Nijima shot her a very confused glance and Futaba almost spit out her coffee. 

“Who, Akira?” She laughed, like that was the most outrageous concept on earth. Yusuke found himself somehow happy, though he couldn’t quite understand why. Why would Futaba having a boyfriend bother him?

“Nah, Akira already has a boyfriend. And honestly, Akechi-san is kind of scary.”

“But very hot!” Kurusu chimed in from the kitchen. 

Futaba opened her mouth to reply, but before she got the chance the cafe door opened and a middle-age man stepped inside. He had dark hair and an impressive goatee, and was wearing a bright pink shirt and a coffee-stained apron. He stopped in confusion as he took in the sight of four teenagers sitting in his otherwise empty cafe, probably after regular closing time, but when he saw Futaba, he smiled bemusedly. 

“Sojirooo!” Futaba stood up in her seat and waved. The man -Sojiro- waved back, before walking over to their table. 

“Hello kids, I am Sojiro Sakura, though everyone usually call me Boss. You all must be Futaba’s friends.” 

He introduced himself and then without missing a beat took a swig of Futaba’s coffee. He coughed, slamming the cup back onto the counter. 

“Hey, Kurusu! D’you put that godawful stuff in the coffee again? It tastes like goddamn cardamom buns” 

Kurusu’s laughter rang out through the cafe, and Sakura muttered something about “damn brats wasting good coffee beans” under his breath. He cleared his throat. 

“Well anyhow, I want you kids to know that any friend of Futaba’s is welcome here. Feel free to stop by for a cup of coffee anytime.” 

They all nodded. Sakura seemed like a nice guy, and Yusuke understood why Futaba had wanted them to meet him. He was already feeling more at home in the friendly atmosphere of Leblanc than he had in a long time. 

They engaged in some lighthearted conversation with Sakura for a while, which ended up as an argument between Futaba and Sakura on whether cardamom was an acceptable spice to put in your coffee. (The dispute was quickly resolved when Kurusu was called in as a tie-breaker and Sakura reminded him who paid his salary) 

After a few minutes, Sakura excused himself to go close the shop. Futaba got an urgent expression on her face and stood up on her chair, moving to follow the man. 

“That’s right! Yusuke and I also had… stuff to do.” 

Yusuke suddenly remembered the reason why they had come here. He looked over at Nijima and Hifumi. They seemed to be immersed in a conversation about Shogi anyway, but they broke it off when he stood. 

“That is correct. I believe Futaba and I have… urgent matters to deal with.” 

Nijima nodded knowingly. 

“Alright you two, why don’t you go outside and deal with your urgent matters” She smiled brightly and Yusuke wondered why on earth Nijima wasn’t questioning his extremely fishy excuse. Apparently Hifumi did as well, because she sent a questioning glance at her friend, who answered without missing a beat, loud enough so that everyone in the shop could hear.   
“Well they’re probably going to go make out! That’s what couples do, right?” 

For a split second, the world froze. 

Futaba almost fell of her chair in surprise, throwing her arms around her face to hide her red cheeks. “Wh-wha-where? Where the hell did that come from?” she sputtered. 

Sakura dropped the keys he’d been using to lock the doors, twirling around to glare at Yusuke with a very scary expression on his face while Kurusu, who had been polishing a cup by the sink, gave Yusuke an impressed glance.

Hifumi broke out in giggles, hugging her chest and gasping for air while Nijima looked at everyone with a very confused expression on her normally stoic face.

Yusuke blinked once, twice, and three times before the meaning of Njima’s words sank in. As soon as they did however, his cheeks became even redder than Futaba’s.   
“N-nno That’s not- I assure you it’s not-” His sputtering wasn’t any more legible than Futaba’s. 

“A-anyway” Futaba managed, composing herself. “Come on Yusuke! Let’s go.” She climbed out of their booth and practically sprinted out of the Café, leaving Yusuke to follow her out. 

 

Outside of Leblanc, the air was humid and pleasant. Futaba was sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth of the heels of her feet as usual. She motioned for Yusuke to join her and he did, crouching on the pavement until they were eye to eye. 

“Well, how about we decide to never speak of that again.” Futaba mumbled, pink still dusting her cheeks. 

“Agreed.” Yusuke nodded. Still, something about what Niijima had said had stuck with him. He wondered what it would be like, having Futaba as a-   
He shook his head. Yusuke had never had a crush, as Futaba had put it, so he didn’t know what he felt for Futaba. It was certainly possible that he liked her as more of a friend, he wouldn’t deny the possibility.   
Still, he was certain that his feelings weren’t reciprocated. Futaba hadn’t done anything to insinuate her liking him as more than a friend, and Yusuke wasn’t going to ruin one of the best friendships he’d ever experienced by confessing to her only to be shut down. 

He didn’t know if he could go back to the way things were before, without Futaba. 

“Ey! Inari, why do you look so down?” Yusuke looked up to see Futaba poking his arm.   
“Pardon, I was just thinking.” Futaba looked unconvinced, but she dropped it. 

“Anyway, I was gonna say that we can observe the progress through here.” She gestured to a small window that Yusuke assumed led into the café. He hadn’t seen it when they were inside though, so it must be pretty well hidden. 

Through it, Yusuke saw Hifumi and Nijima sitting by a table. He couldn’t see very well since there was a potted plant and a couple of chair in the way, but the girls seemed to be having a good time. Yusuke even thought he spotted some blush on Hifumi’s cheeks, but he wasn’t sure. 

A curious feeling of accomplishment and giddiness caught Yusuke by surprise as he watched the girls. The feeling of victory, of being a part of something special made his arms weak and his breath catch in his throat. What was this?   
He felt Futaba pressing her shoulder into his in an attempt to see through the window. She grinned when she saw the couple, and made a thumbs up. Yusuke could see her brown eyes glitter in the reflection of the window. The shadows from the warmly lit Café made Futaba’s hair glow, and Yusuke noticed that the skin around her nose was speckled with light brown freckles. It was very cute. 

He realized that the happiness he felt wasn’t really from Hifumi and Nijima’s relationship, though he did certainly feel happy for them as well. No, this feeling came from being included. To share a secret, a plan, with another person. To have somebody trust him with a mission, even if it’s just something stupid like setting up a date for two friends. 

Just the act of sharing something with another individual, something only for the two of them that nobody else was a part of, was a wonderful feeling. And Yusuke realized that he’d never felt something like this before. Even when he was living with Sensei and the others, there had always been an air of competition there. Everyone was always scrambling to prove themselves, to show that they were worthy of Sensei’s tutorship, and then there had been the other things too. The lies and deception that took Yusuke years to see through. 

The giddy feeling seemed to give Yusuke courage he didn’t know he possessed. He was suddenly overcome by a desire to thank Futaba, to let her know how much this had meant to him. Even if she hadn’t realized, she’d given him exactly what he needed, and he was very grateful.   
But, he thought, If I tell her I’ll have to explain everything. For some reason, that thought didn’t fill him with as much dread as before. He was still scared, terrified even, that Futaba would learn about his past and reject him, that it would taint her image of him. And yet a part of him wanted her to know. It had probably always been there, buried under a mound of anxiety and brought to the surface by the homely smell of coffee and the feeling of Futaba’s shoulder pressed into his.  
Maybe telling Futaba wouldn’t be so bad, maybe it would even help. 

Yusuke made up his mind. He cleared his throat, and turned to face his friend.   
“ Uhm, while we wait. I- I guess I- I would like to tell you something. Is there somewhere more,” he looked around, “more private we could go?


End file.
